Book binding is pretty simple. I do not mean it is necessarily easy or fast, but that you do not need much equipment or knowledge to get started. I think when I first started binding (not much more than a year ago) that this knowledge was a big surprise to me. So, if you are interested in trying your hand at binding, take heart!

I once imagined that bookbinding required extensive tools. It is true that the books themselves take certain special materials (you can’t fake nice paper, for example), but the tools required for putting them together is dead simple. I use four g-clamps and a couple well-bound oversize books, shown below. Every book I have ever made was with these four clamps and these two books. Very soon I will be making myself some new presses according to this tutorial, except that I intend to use cutting boards instead of fiberboard.

The only truly essential materials are strong thread (beading thread or linen thread works well), paper, an awl, a cutting board, a cutting implement, book board, and copious quantities of elmer’s glue. I like to order my decorative papers and cloths from Hollanders, and most other supplies like book board, elmer’s glue, and linen thread from Amazon.

The first few times I made books, they were not great looking. There were two primary reasons for this: 1) I did not let the glue dry sufficiently before moving to the next step. Then when I did the next step, the unset material would wrinkle, bubble or tear, and 2) Some papers are really unforgiving and will bubble and wrinkle very easily. Copy paper for example is not designed to be absorptive, and thus takes some skill to handle. I recommend starting with drawing papers or high cotton content papers. These papers will not buckle with too much glue or bubble with too little.

Below are four books I did in the first six months of learning. You can’t see here, but all of them have some little wrinkle or foible here or there. Each was still really exciting; I still had made books! I hope this little discussion is helpful to anyone who is interested, or getting started. I find joy in every book I put together, sometimes to an extent that seems strange. For more pics (of more recent efforts), or if you are interested in my books, check out my Etsy store.

I have added several new items to the Etsy shop, ViroBooks. These items are hand bound blank journals. Each of them has 90 lined pages of 32 lb paper. They have exposed spines with a coptic stitch pattern (this pattern gives the appearance of braiding along the spine). The covers are bound in 100% cotton papers of various patterns. They are $5 each. A couple example shots are shown below (more are on Etsy):

I am still gathering materials for the hand bound versions of Vironevaeh: Science Fiction Fairy Tales. These journals serve a few purposes: 1) drive traffic to the new and thus unrated Etsy store, 2) use up some paper I don’t currently have a use for and 3) practice to apply towards the binding of the Fairy Tales.

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About Vironevaeh

I am a research scientist and artist living in New Mexico. This blog is a catch-all for my interest in science, art, and science fiction. If you're passionate about these topics, too, drop me a line on a post. I also post about New Mexico, the southwest, photography, and current projects.